The challenge
simplehuman had previously outsourced its UK-based warehousing and fulfilment operations to a third party provider but business growth necessitated a move towards more control, speed and flexibility. Consequently, they decided to invest in a new, purpose-built distribution centre and manage the operation themselves.
To support the insourcing of the operation, simplehuman required a best-of-breed warehouse management system (WMS) which could be interfaced with its SAGE 200 ERP, implemented quickly, without a large capital investment and able to drive productivity improvements.
Nigel Parker, simplehuman's Distribution Manager EMEA explains: "We needed to create effective channels that provide a diverse service level to our customers as well as ensuring maximum efficiency. We also required a WMS that had the capacity to expand and develop with us, as well as ensuring that we can take full advantage of the ever-changing factors in the logistics industry."
The solution
Having evaluated several systems, SnapFulfil gave the company both the growth potential, and speed and simplicity of implementation essential to meet its customers ever changing requirements. Configurability was also a key deciding factor to complement simplehuman's philosophy of innovation and change.
The benefits
Moving from a third party system to SnapFulfil cloud-based WMS has helped simplehuman tangibly develop its processing - for example ecommerce orders that might have taken two to three days to process are now actioned within hours of receipt, giving customers a 24 hour order- to-pick service in most cases.
They also have better visibility (i.e. real time) of inventory, are able to capture performance in several key areas, plus take advantage of easy exporting to excel, as well as activity and session monitoring – while regular configurability tweaks aren't prohibitively expensive.
James Dowdeswell, simplehuman's Director of Finance and Operations EMEA, adds: "We've found SnapFulfil to be both attentive and flexible – unlike many vendors, they understand that every business is unique and don't try to pigeon-hole us."
